Senior Conservative MPs have called for Nicola Sturgeon and Peter Murrell to give evidence to a Westminster inquiry into the SNP’s finances and the fallout from Murrell’s embezzlement. The inquiry follows the rejection of calls for a Holyrood investigation, and its supporters say the public still deserve answers about a case involving substantial public spending on the police investigation.

The Scottish Affairs Committee is considering whether to invite Murrell, who was jailed for five years and three months for embezzling more than £400,000 from the SNP, as well as Sturgeon and other senior figures. Select committees can require witnesses to attend and documents to be produced, with possible sanctions for refusal. The committee plans inquiries into Scottish political parties’ funding and governance, including the SNP’s finances and any use of public money, and into whether the Lord Advocate’s legal and prosecutorial roles should be separated.